Helping you find the best places to stay for your health and your wallet
No matter where you travel you need a place to stay, and finding the right one is often not as simple as it looks.
Where is it located? How are you getting there and is it safe?
What amenities does it provide?
Is it within budget? What is a good price in the area?
How do you know it’s clean and reliable?
When it comes to accommodation the options are numerous and the majority of the time you are booking a place you have never seen - and you can’t always trust the pictures. Regardless of whether you are looking for an all-inclusive resort, an apartment, a homestay, or a hostel, you want a place that you can call home, feel safe in, and rest easy. There is nothing worse when you are travelling than feeling unsafe or that your accommodation is dirty and unsanitary - because nobody wants bedbugs!
Here are recommendations based on my own travels to help you find the right place to stay for your health and your wallet.
Regardless of where you are staying there are a few steps you can take to find the best place for you. This is the process I use and the questions I always ask myself:
BEFORE SEARCHING
Start with you budget: What is your budget for your travels? Decide what you are comfortable spending on accommodation, and balance this with the money you have for food, transport, and activities. You don’t want to get to a place only to feel that you can’t enjoy the food or attractions because of financial strain.
Identify your necessities and values: What must be included? This is often personal and varies depending on the type of travel you are doing. Do you need a kitchen, or are you only going to eat out? Do you require reliable Wifi? Laundry facilities? Try to separate necessities and luxuries so you know what you can and cannot do without.
Determine how much space you need: Can you share facilities or do you need an entire place? If your budget is tight staying somewhere with communal facilities or splitting a place with someone else can be a big cost saver. This can be all the way from hostel dorm rooms, to sharing an apartment. Evaluate your privacy needs, comfort level, and desire to socialize.
START SEARCHING
Choose the right site: Where to begin the search? Based on what you have identified as your budget, necessities, and space requirements you can choose the right websites to meet your needs. For hotel rooms and higher end accommodation I recommend TravelPony, Priceline, Expedia, and Booking.com (click here to get $20 off your stay). For mid-range budgets or a more local feel, consider renting an entire place or a private room through Airbnb (click here to get $40 off your first stay). For those really slim on funds, check out Couchsurfing for free accommodation options. Decide which ones are best for you and begin searching with the criteria you determined above.
Search by location: What do you want to be near? Most sites give accommodation locations and this can often be a big factor on where to stay. Depending on what transportation you are planning to have, it may be beneficial to stay near public transport such as a bus stop, or near the activities you are planning on doing, such as the beach if you are surfing. Looking at location allows you to anticipate additional costs and time, such as travel to your accommodation, as well as potential safety concerns in the area.
Review the content: What is the description like? Are there photographs? Check that what is described about the accommodation matches what you are searching for and that there are no surprises. Sometimes an accommodation can appear cheap with hidden fees you didn’t anticipate - if it looks too good to be true, it probably is. Review any photos that are available to get an idea of the place and its facilities, to ensure they match the description. Generally if no pictures are available I will consider other options.
Read the reviews: What do previous guests have to say? Experience tends to speak for itself. If travelers before you were unsatisfied, be wary. Identify pros and cons from at least a few reviews and compare these back to your values.
Know the cancellation policy: How flexible is cancellation? This can be important to keep in mind as plans always change. Having a flexible cancellation policy can be good peace of mind.
Found the right place? Go ahead and book, and always ensure you have the correct travel dates! If you haven’t been successful, consider re-evaluating your original search criteria.
This is a site I book through A LOT, and have yet to have a bad experience. Offering a range of different accommodation options, Airbnb enables you to rent someone’s entire place during your stay, or simply a private room in their house. Accommodation is available in a large price range, with the ability to “instant book” if you are short on time (more places are available if you allow time to request a stay and can await approval from the host).
How it works: With Airbnb you create a profile and hosts list their accommodation on the site. All your booking, communication, and payment occur through the website, providing security. After your stay, you have the ability to review the host and they can review you. Neither person may see the others’ review until both are completed or the review period has ended - allowing for unbiased reviews.
Benefits:
- Real people, invested in their accommodation: no large hotel chains
- Often a more authentic, homely experience and local knowledge!
- Real unbiased, reliable reviews from guests
- Usually more affordable when travelling with 2+ people
- Ability to book activities and experience through the site as well
- Great app interface
If you have never given Airbnb a try, I highly recommend it and use it as my primary form of accommodation. My wife and I have found it more affordable than a hostel when splitting the cost between multiple people. We have met some incredible people, and since their own homes are involved, they have been invested in maintaining the property and keeping things very clean. So give it a go: click here to get $40 off your first stay.
You usually can’t beat the price of a hostel, but since prices are usually set per person, you usually don’t save money if you have two or more people. However if you are a single traveler, don’t mind shared facilities, and are interested in socializing, then hostels are a great choice. The times I have been a solo traveler I have really enjoyed meeting other travelers in the hostel environment and often ended up exploring places with them that I might not have done by myself.
You can find hostels through general booking sites, or even on Airbnb. However, depending on where you are travelling it may be beneficial to book directly through the hostel site, as there are many hostel organizations that offer membership with decent discounts. From personal experience I found the Youth Hostel Association (YHA) to be a great organization when I traveled through New Zealand. Not only did I get discounted room rates, but also many discounts on local attractions. Part of Hosteling International, you can even get a general membership that offers you discounts to hostels all around the world - so check it out!
If you are looking to stay in a hotel or want to indulge in higher end accommodation, begin your search at TravelPony, Priceline, and Expedia. These sites offer great hotel deals to ensure you get the best price possible. If you are travelling through Asia, Agoda is probably the best place to find both hotels and guesthouses, and a site I find myself going back to repeatedly for great deals. Likewise, Booking.com provides a good range of accommodation for various budgets, with some good deals - click here to receive $20 off your next stay.
Offering free accommodation, Couchsurfing connects travelers with locals who have opened up their home for people to stay (sometimes on a bed, couch, or floor). More than that, Couchsurfing provides a large social network, providing hangouts and opportunities for travelers and locals to mingle, and I have met some incredible and gracious people through Couchsurfing. Working in the same way as Airbnb, guests are able to review their hosts and vice versa, allowing each to evaluate the other before staying together. So if you are looking to save money and interested in hanging out with locals, this is a great option. Please note however, that there is an expectation if you are going to use Couchsurfing that you will one day open your own home to other “couchsurfers”.